EXCLUSIVE British astronaut Tim Peake gives his verdict on the Katy Perry space mission - so, do you agree?

Daily Mail​

17-05-2025

It's fair to say the legendary British astronaut Tim Peake knows a thing or two about going to space.
The 53-year-old, from Chichester in Sussex, spent six months on the International Space Station (ISS) between December 2015 and June 2016.
While there, he completed the first British spacewalk, took part in 250 research experiments, and even managed to remotely run the London Marathon.
So Katy Perry's 11-minute space flight, which sparked intense backlash on social media, was always going to look worthless by comparison.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Major Peake said the latest mission organized by Jeff Bezos ' firm Blue Origin didn't have a 'huge amount of benefit'.
'What we do in space should all be about the benefits to society and progressing science, progressing exploration and progressing human knowledge,' he said.
'So I don't see a huge amount of benefit if a mission is not going to achieve at least some of those aims.'
Major Peake also revealed an exciting update on the upcoming all-UK space mission.
As well as Katy Perry, the Blue Origin mission on April 14 carried Lauren Sanchez (fiancé of Blue Origin boss Jeff Bezos), producer Kerianne Flynn, TV host Gayle King, engineer Aisha Bowe and activist Amanda Nguyen 66.5 miles above Earth.
Undoubtedly, Katy Perry – singer of hits such as 'I Kissed a Girl' and 'Roar' – was the most publicised name.
But the latter two – Aisha Bowe and activist Amanda Nguyen – were somewhat overlooked by comparison, despite being respected names in the science industry.
Major Peake said 'the PR was not handled very well' for the sub-orbital spaceflight, which lasted just lasted 10 minutes and 21 seconds.
'Two of the crew members were incredibly well-renowned STEM ambassadors, one was a Nobel nominee, and very little was mentioned about that,' he said.
Blue Origin's elite space programme – so far restricted to the wealthy or well-connected – puts tourists into space briefly and returns them safely to Earth.
It's all part of a new industry known as space tourism, where you don't have to be a professional astronaut to enjoy the profound experience that is space travel.
If nothing else, these 'space tourism' missions have a part to play in terms of inspiring the next generation, but only if done correctly, Major Peake added.
Major Peake spoke to MailOnline ahead of this summer's Goodwood Festival of Speed near his native Chichester where he's ambassador of the Future Lab exhibition showcasing the technologies of tomorrow.
The British spaceman also gave the biggest indication yet that he's about to make a spectacular return into orbit after nearly a decade back on Earth.
He has already been confirmed as 'strategic advisor' for a mission led by US firm Axiom Space to send an all-UK team into space for the first time.
It's unclear whether the role of 'strategic advisor' will include being one of the four UK astronauts making up the team.
But the mission will certainly require a seasoned astronaut to act as 'commander' akin to the captain on a ship – with Major Peake the most obvious contender.
Accompanying him could be paralympic sprinter John McFall from Surrey and astrophysicist Rosemary Coogan from Belfast.
Despite announcing his retirement as a spacefarer back in 2023, Major Peake – whose first job was as a barman at the The Nags Head pub in Chichester – said going to space is still 'always of interest'.
'I'm an astronaut who's fit and able to fly to space and command a mission,' he told MailOnline. 'So absolutely I'm willing and ready to command the mission and fly to space.'
It's unclear when the mission will happen, but Major Peake hopes it will be within the next three years.
It also hasn't yet been decided if the all-British mission will have the ISS as its destination, although it would be 'an obvious location'.
He explained to MailOnline: 'The reason why the crew's not being announced and the reason why I can't officially say whether or not I'm part of the crew is because that forms a process which NASA have to be intimately involved in.
'Ultimately, if you're going to dock to the International Space Station they [NASA] have to approve the commander.
'And so it's not our position in terms of Axiom Space to announce the crew prior to the mission actually having gone through the kind of NASA approval process.
'The first part of that is actually to secure a private astronaut mission to the ISS, so until you've actually secured that mission via NASA you can't announce the crew.'
When he blasted off to the ISS, Peake became the first officially British spaceman, although he was not the first Briton in space.
It was back in 1991 when Sheffield-born chemist Helen Sharman not only became the first British spacewoman, but the first British person in space.
Peake said he would never forget his 'exhilarating' first walk in space as he posted a cheeky space selfie of the historic feat, showing the camera reflected in his helmet
Before both Sharman and Peake had been into space, other UK-born men had done so through NASA's space programme, thanks to acquiring US citizenship.
But Sharman and Peake are considered the first 'official' British people in space as they were both representing their country of birth.
Major Peake also became the first astronaut funded by the British government.
During his time on the ISS, he ran the London marathon and became the first person to complete a spacewalk while sporting a Union flag on his shoulder.
Upon returning to Earth in June 2016, Major Peake said he was looking forward to pizza and a cold beer.
Meet the astronauts tipped to fly into space as part of the all-UK mission with Tim Peake
Three Britons – including the world's first ever 'parastronaut' – are among the European Space Agency's first new cohort of astronauts in almost 15 years.
In November 2022, John McFall, Rosemary Coogan and Meganne Christian were named in a class of 17 men and women chosen from a whopping 22,523 applicants.
They will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of current British astronaut Tim Peake, who spent six months on the International Space Station (ISS) almost a decade ago.
Here's a closer look at the three adventurers, who may be joined by Major Peake himself on a trip to the ISS.
John McFall
Britain's John McFall was named as the world's first 'parastronaut' in November 2022
John McFall, 44, is a British father-of-three, surgical trainee and Paralympic medallist.
Originally from Frimley in Surrey, Mr McFall had his right leg amputated following a motorcycle accident in Thailand in 2000.
He was fitted with a prosthesis and is now working with the European Space Agency (ESA) to investigate how such a disability could affect a stint in space.
He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing among other honours, before retiring to take up his medical studies at Cardiff University.
He has put his medical career on hold to work with ESA and follow his 'passion for science and life'.
Rosemary Coogan
Rosemary Coogan, 33, is an astrophysicist originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland.
She attended school in Brighton and gained two master's degrees from the University of Durham.
One of these focused on physics, mathematics, computer programming and astronomy, and the other on gamma-ray emission from black holes.
Coogan moved to the University of Sussex as a doctoral researcher, studying galaxy evolution and the activity of active galactic nuclei.
From a young age, she spent several weeks a year away from home onboard military training vessels and land bases as a Cadet Petty Officer with the Sea Cadets from 2002 to 2009.
Meganne Christian
Meganne Christian, 37, is a materials scientist graduate from the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
She was born in Pembury in Kent but moved to Australia at a young age and attended Illawarra Grammar School in Wollongong.
She said she was inspired to become an astronaut when one visited her school.
The materials scientist has worked at the National Research Council of Italy in Bologna and as a researcher at Concordia Station in Antarctica, one of the most remote places on Earth.
According to ESA, Meganne received several national awards for outstanding research in the field of engineering and industrial chemistry.
In addition to British and Italian citizenship, she also holds Australian and New Zealand citizenship.